Stanwix1 Parish
> | Is about seven miles in length from east to west, and
averaging from one to two miles in breadth, comprises an area of 8 and two-thirds square
miles, all except about 150 acres, lying on the north side of the river Eden, opposite to
Carlisle. It is bounded on the west by Rockcliff, on the north by Westlinton and Scaleby,
and on the east by Crosby; contains 5535 acres of the rateable value of £12,359, and in
1841, a population of 2088 souls. It possesses a clayey soil, which in some places has a
mixture of sand forming a fine deep mould, capable of producing wheat and other grain in
great perfection. The north side of the parish is high, yet tolerably level, and the lands
on the south descend with a varied and beautiful inclination to the Eden, where there is
plenty of soft freestone. The parish is divided into the eight following townships, viz. Cargo,
Etterby, Houghton, Linstock, Rickerby, Stainton, Stanwix,
and Tarraby.
Stanwix is a large village, delightfully situated a
little above the north end of the stone bridge which crosses the river Eden, opposite to
Carlisle, to which it may be said to form a populous suburb. It contains a few well-built
terraces and neat houses, where some of the merchants and tradespeople of Carlisle reside.
The church, dedicated to St. Michael, is a handsome edifice in the early English style of
architecture, erected in 1841, at the cost of £2960, including about £300 for an organ;
all raised by subscription, except £200 given by the incorporated society of London. It
is built nearly on the site of the old fabric, which occupied the place, and was partly
erected out of the ruins of the Congavata2 of the
Romans. The present church is in the form of a cross, and consists of a nave, transept and
chancel, with a splendid tower, surmounted Cargo, or Craghow, is a straggling village and township, 3 miles N.W. of Carlisle. It contains 1097 acres, rated at £1675 belonging to Mr. Richard Ferguson, Mr. John Hewson, Mr. Thomas James, and some other smaller owners. Its name is a corruption of Craggy-Hill, and its manor was anciently held of the crown by John de Lacy, who granted it to the family of Vesey, from whom it passed by sale to Sir Ewan Carlisle. It was held, in the 2nd of Edward I by Robert de Ross, with whose descendants it continued till the 32nd of Edward III, when Elizabeth Ross transferred it to the Parrs, from whom it afterwards passed in exchange to Queen Elizabeth, who granted it out to the Whitmores, by whom it was sold to the Dacres, and in 1793, purchased by Joseph Lamb, Esq. whose grandson, Charles John Lamb, Esq. is the present lord. Population in 1831, 242. Etterby is a hamlet and township containing several handsome villas, one mile N.N.W. of Carlisle. Its population in 1831, was 110, and it comprises only 269 acres, of the rateable value of £933. C.J. Graham, Esq. is the largest land owner in this township, which is crossed by the Caledonian railway. The estates are held by the barony of Burgh, under the earl of Lonsdale, some as a parcel of the manor of Westlinton. It is said that the British king, Arthur, was entertained here in 550, when carrying his victorious arms against the Danes and Norwegians.
Linstock township has a village near the Eden, 2½ miles north east of Carlisle, contains 1017 acres, rated at £1665, and in 1831 has 228 inhabitants. George Saul, and J.J. Watts, Esqrs. are the largest owners of the soil; and here is a drain tile manufactory, belonging to Mr. Jno. Poole, of Carlisle. The Castle, a portion of which is now used as a farm house, was the only palace of the bishops of Carlisle, till 1229. This manor, which was formerly called the Barony of Linstock or Crosby, contains besides those places, Walby, Rickerby, and Newby. It was granted by Henry I to Walter, his chaplain, who afterwards became prior of Carlisle, and gave this manor to the convent, but on the partition of the lands of the religious houses, it was given to the bishop of Carlisle, whose successors have since been lords of the manor. About the year 1293, bishop Hilton is said to have entertained here for a considerable time, Johannes Romanus, archbishop of York, with his train, which amounted to above 300 persons. Rickerby, or Richardby, is a small but pleasant hamlet and township on the banks of the Eden, 1½ miles east by north from Carlisle. It contains only about eighty inhabitants, and 510 acres of land, rated at £1046, nearly all the property of Geo. Head Head, Esq. whose seat is Rickerby House, a beautiful mansion in a delightful situation, about a mile east of Carlisle. The manor was formerly dependant on the barony of Linstock or Crosby; but the land is now all enfranchised. It was part of the large possessions of the Tilliols, from whom it passed successively to the Pickerings, Westons, Musgraves, Studholmes, Gilpins, Richardsons, &c. Here is a very neat school, erected in 1835, by G.H. Head, Esq. who nearly supports it at his own expense, and supplies the school necessaries. There are about sixty children, on an average, in attendance, and the school seems to be well and ably conducted by Mr. Francis P. Blundell, the present master. Stainton is a small hamlet and township, containing a few good houses, two miles W.N.W. of Carlisle. Its population in 1831, was sixty-seven souls, and it only comprises 545 acres, rated at £1046. Mrs. Allison, the executors of the Dr. Atkinson, and Mr. Thomas James, are the largest land owners, but the earl of Lonsdale is lord of the manor, being within the barony of Burgh. It was purchased in 1686, of the Musgraves, by Sir John Lowther. Tarraby is another small hamlet and township, 1½ mile N.E. of Carlisle, containing only 464 acres of the rateable value of £895, and 90 inhabitants in 1831. The largest land owners are Mrs. Aglionby, and Mr. George Robinson. Drawdykes Castle, the ancient seat of the Aglionby family, is in this township. This was amongst their earliest possessions in this country, the estate never having been in other hands from the time of the conquest until 1789, when it passed to John Orfeur Yates, of Skirwith Abbey, in right of his wife, Mary, one of the four sisters and co-heiresses of Christopher Aglionby, Esq. who was then recorder of Carlisle. He placed the three remarkable stone busts upon the battlements, which still remain, and attract the attention of the curious. The present farm house was built in 1765. The Drawdykes estate is toll free of the city of Carlisle, a privilege which was confirmed to the tenants at the assizes in 1775.
Mannix & Whellan, History, Gazetteer and Directory of Cumberland, 1847
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Notes
1. Stanwix is pronounced Stannix,
Houghton is Howt'n.
2. Modern scholarship ascribes the name of Petriana to the Roman fort at
Stanwix.
Photos © Steve Bulman.
19 June 2015
© Steve Bulman